Recounts Of A Competition

I'm finally back after a long break to revive my blog again!! :D
To start, let me share a recent incident with you.

Recently, there was a track and field all-comers competition held at the Bukit Gombak Stadium. Naturally, my coach signed the school's track team up for it, since that was a good way to get experience and also a wonderful chance to judge our skills against the other competitors from the other schools.

While waiting, I was spectating the various events before mine and was awed by the speed at which the competitors were running at. It was obviously at a different level from mine. Hwa Chong's track and field team has been winning the championship for the C boys segment for nine years already and anyone in the right mind would definitely want to continue this streak, nonetheless us. Thus, there was suddenly a heavy load on our burden. However, we found out later that it was actually needless for us to worry so much, as those sprinters who were running before us were all in the B boys segment, which means that we would not be going up against them.

That piece of news really made my day and I managed to heave a sigh of relief. Before I knew it, it was already our turn to run. While changing into our spike shoes at the calling room, I wished my track mates good luck before proceeding on. Our race event was separated into different heats and I was apparently in the third heat. When my turn finally came, I followed the usual procedure of adjusting the starting blogs and doing some last minute stretches to loosen up our leg muscles. Even though my heart was thumping, I was still feeling pretty confident after all the encouragement from my fellow track mates.

The gun went off and the race was on. I gathered all my strength and "blasted off". It was a good start, even though I was not leading. I was hot on their tails and was steadily catching up with the other sprinters in front of me. In such races, being anxious usually helps me to focus better. However, it seemed to backfire that day. While in the midst of running, I suddenly lost my balance and had no choice but to slow down. I was flailing about as I tried to keep myself from falling. Though I did not fall, I had already fall behind everyone and was in the last place. Despite this, I continued running till I crossed the finishing line.

While catching my breath, I felt a mix of negative emotions. I was both disappointed and angry as I knew there was no one to blame for this mistake besides myself. In the end, I could do nothing but wait for the results to be out. Ultimately, I did not achieve my goal that day, but at least I tried my best. Now, with the nationals just around the corner, I have decided to strive on and not let that setback affect me, I will definitely improve and not let such unforgivable mistakes happen again.

That would be all to this blog entry, hoped you enjoy it. Bye!

EOY Preparation

Basically, the only thing that we can do for the upcoming End-of-Year examinations is to revise, revise and revise. So that is just what I am planning to do. Metaphors, similes, hyperboles, oxymorons... I will have to fully utilize these figures of speech in order to do well for the poetry analysis and doing revision is the only way to achieve that. Besides this, I will also do more practises, after all practice makes perfect. Hopefully, all these will suffice and allow me to get a good mark for the final exam.

Major Blog Assignment (No Boundaries)

The song that I have chosen is "No Boundaries" sung by Kris Allen.

Here are the lyrics:

"No Boundaries"
Seconds, hours, so many days
You know what you want, but how long can you wait
Every moment lasts forever when you feel you’ve lost your way
What if my chances are already gone
Started believing that I could be wrong
But you give me one good reason
To fight and never walk away

So here I am — still holding on!

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You’ll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing

Just when you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you’ve almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

I fought to the limit to stand on the edge
What if today is as good as it gets
Don't know where the future's heading
But nothing's gonna bring me down

I've jumped every bridge and I've heard every lie
I've risked being safe but I always knew why
I always knew why

So here I am - still holding on!

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You’ll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing

Just when you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you’ve almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand and show you that you can

You can go higher
You can go deeper
There are no boundaries
Above and beneath you
Break every rule cause there’s nothing between you and your dreams

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
Yeah
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You’ll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes

There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

Personal Feelings/ Reflections
Just like what the title suggests, "No Boundaries" is actually implying that we should not let anything hold us back from achieving our goal, and that we must persevere and strive for the best. After all, nothing can stop us once we put our heart and soul into doing it, and that's just how strong human potential is. No human being knows what the future holds for him, but he can choose to create a better future for himself, it's just a matter of whether he wants to or not. Just like how love has no boundaries, life has no boundaries too, it's up to us, human beings, to change our lives for the better and achieve our goals.

Analysis
The song starts with "Seconds, hours, so many days", suggesting that time is involved in the song, however the purpose is not stated yet. In the following lines, we finally understand that the songwriter nearly gives up on something, as he does not want to waste time, however because of a certain reason, he is able to "fight and never walk away", never giving up and "still holding on".

In the second verse, the songwriter talks about how he could not believe that he could actually persevere, and finally reach his goal. This was stated in the sentence, "Every breath it's harder to believe, You'll make it through the pain", finally getting "to that one thing".

The third verse states how the songwriter actually wanted to give up, "almost gave up on your dreams", but he persists, not allowing anything to hold him back as "There are no boundaries".

The songwriter mentions in the fourth verse about how surviving today could be the last straw, "What if today is as good as it gets", not even knowing what would happen tomorrow or in the future, but despite all this, he still does not lose hope as "nothing's gonna bring me down".

The fifth verse includes the songwriter's past experiences and the motive as to why he risks his safety.

The verse that starts with "You can go higher" talks about how the songwriter thinks that he can achieve anything he wants as "There are no boundaries", thus anything is possible.

Personal Response
Addition of lyrics:

Just believe in yourself and you'll see
How cool reality can actually be
You've made it through the pain
Now come and face the day

There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

Parent's Response
I agree with what Guo Yue thinks of himself, having no boundaries to hold him back and being able to strive for the best. He has proven his point that he can actually work harder and aim for success in his studies, though I have noticed that his English standard
seems to be dropping, however I believe in him and I know he will not disappoint me.

Sorry for the late post.
I faced problems doing my blog on Friday and Saturday while using the laptop.

Views On The Casino

Knowing the plights of those who have gambled and lost all their money, I am against gambling and thus does not hope for the casino to be built in Singapore as this means that more people can gamble and once again, more people will suffer at their own hands due to gambling.

However, after reviewing the current situation, I have decided to change my point of view.

The construction of the casino might be a good thing after all. With the current economic downturn, many people are losing their jobs and source of income, but with the casino, more people will be able to get jobs and some who are lucky might even get rich after gambling. Thus, I guess I am alright with it. My parents also have the same mindset as me in the sense that this is what's best for Singapore. Besides, with the casino, more tourists might be attracted to Singapore and this may lead to more money earned.

"There is an assumption out there that casinos are recession-proof." I guess this statement makes sense.

Poetry On Gambling

I think the comparison should be made like this:

1. Tom Beatty - The Rocking Horse Winner

2. The Green Clothes - Paper

3. One-Dollar Gambler - The Lottery

My reason:

1. Both Tom Beatty and The Rocking Horse Winner are talking about gambling, luck and also of the consequences if you are obsessed with it. In The Rocking Horse Winner, Paul's mother told him of luck and how it could bring them money. In order to silence the voices in the house and to help his parents earn money, he went in search of luck. But his desparation to earn even more led to him becoming insane and finally dying. From this, we know that his parents were to blame. In Tom Beatty, they also said that you can waste seventy years to gamble but ultimately, you will not win and will still die.

2. Both Paper and The Green Clothes are similar in terms of tips, dry lips and all that was spent in vain. In Paper, Tay Soon and Yee Lian heeded the tips and bought the stocks that were rumoured to bring them more money. When the stocks crashed, Tay Soon and Yee Lian lost all their money. Devastated, they cried and this was what caused the dry lips. All the money they invested in the stocks were all that was spent in vain.

3. In Lottery, Ah Boh was similar to the blind man in the sense that they both failed to see what gambling can do to them. Similarly, number 13 also symbolizes Ah Boh's superstition. Finally, when Ah Boh lost all her money, she would have zero dollars left.

Gambling Materials

1. Paper, the title of the story, is actually a form of symbolism, which represents something insignificant and of little value. "It's just paper gains so far" tells us that the money they made through selling stocks and shares so far is merely a fraction of what they can get in the end if they continue. Proving that the amount of money they had then was as insignificant as paper which can be easily replaced as it is cheap and of little value. What's important to them is that they must have more money and fulfil their dream of living in a grand house.

Also, when gambling, people rarely consider whether they are wasting money or not as what is of utmost importance to them is to strike the lottery and gain a huge fortune. Even if the money is wasted, they would not really bother as it is still insignificant compared to what they think they will win when they strike the jackpot.

When Tay Soon dies, his mother prepares his "dream house" for him, only this time it would be made of paper. From this point, we know that the house is no longer important as the husband is already dead, thus buying the house would no longer have any meaning to it.

2. Ah Boh is a superstitious woman who believes that lady luck will shine on her one day and let her strike a fortune. However, as the days pass, none of the predicted things came true and that led to Ah Boh resorting to plans like assigning numbers to each object or event dreamt about etc. Nothing good comes out of gambling; however Ah Boh fails to understand that. When her mother dies, Ah Boh was just at the scene of the accident and seemed a bit unstable as she muttered to herself ways of making her mother forgive her.

3. Paul's parents were responsible for his death. Though Paul's parents were not rich, they still spend the money on unnecessary items. When they finally realize that they were running out of money, things became worse. The children, especially Paul, were affected. At this time, Paul also learnt about luck and soon he also learnt about horse races which could gain him money if he was lucky. So whenever there were horse races, he would ride on his toy horse which would give him the inspiration. But it soon became an obsession which led to his demise.

Analyzing and Composing Poem

Response 1.

The poet was probably feeling nostalgic, sad and yet a little happy while reminiscing the past and recalling the good old days when he was back in primary school.

Response 2.

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Recalling The Past

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Walking down the aisle,

I walked to my teacher,

Retreived my result slip,

And went back to my seat.

Not daring to take a look,

My friend took the initiative for me,

Seeing his look of disbelief,

I lost all hope.

But that was not the case,

As my friend turned,

He tapped my shoulder,

And told me the good news.

As my other friends crowded around,

And began to congratulate one another,

Tears started welling up inside our eyes,

This would be our last happy moment together.

But that moment did not last long,

Not wanting to dampen our spirit,

We decided to go on a trip and enjoy,

Our last moments together.

At the end of the day,

We knew it was time to part,

Though I wanted it to last longer,

It was not within my power to do so.

Accepting our fate,

We held back our tears,

Saying the last goodbyes,

We turned our backs and walked away.